Extraordinarily rare Fairchild active EQ from the 1950s. One of only six in existence and probably used to master The Beatles' 'She Loves You' single in the USA.
Extraordinarily rare Fairchild active EQ from the 1950s. One of only six in existence and probably used to master The Beatles’ ‘She Loves You’ single in the USA.
Serviced and in full working order.
Very little information exists about these online. Please see the detailed photos from the seller in this listing. Known history is detailed below.
You can find some schematics and spec on the peerless Preservation Sound site.
This item is located in USA. The listing excludes tax, which may be added depending on your location. If you have any questions, please get in touch and we will do our best to help.
From the owner:
“Emil Corson. Known by a tiny handful of people in mono era audio, he has been described by audio legend Joe Tarsia, who needs no introduction, as the “greatest engineer of the mono era.” Emil and his Rec-O-Art studios was the start of the Philadelphia studio lineage. Emil has one one notable footnote in audio history by mastering The Beatles “She Loves You”.
It is Emil’s writing that you see in grease pencil on the back of the unit noting his retubing of the unit. When an unspeakable event occured in Emil’s life he abruptly left audio to become a street corner preacher and died destitute. Sadly, despite his extraordinary gifts as an audio professional he is mostly forgotten today. This Fairchild 627 came from his mastering room. I believe he built the legendary chamber at Sigma, but I may be mistaken about that detail.
Sometime in approximately 1966 Emil sold this item and a Pultec that I still own to my engineering mentor Jon Luisi. Jon and Tony Luisi were the next generation after Emil and when he liquidated they bought all of his gear except for a unique U-47 that I finally lost track of sometime in the late 1990s much to my permanent chagrin.
In 1992 when Jon himself finally retired I bought what he’d acquired from Emil.
He had other nice modern gear still around but my love of local audio history drew me to these very rare and unusual items that I have treasured ever since and used in countless projects over decades.
I now want them direct in the hands of the 4th generation that will do exactly the same thing all over again.”
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SHIPPING: This item is located in the USA. Brokerage sale so shipping is arranged between the buyer and seller direct (but we can usually help with access to trusted couriers etc). If you need an estimate then get in touch.
Brokerage Sale Information:
Brokerage sale on behalf of a client. If you have gear that you want us to look at selling on your behalf then please look at our Commission & Consignment page for more information and get in touch to discuss your requirements.
This item is not at Soundgas and we have (sadly) not had a chance to test it ourselves yet. We only work in this way with trusted clients who understand their gear. This particular unit comes from a good friend of Soundgas, whose expertise and attention to detail matches (and at times exceeds) our own: this will not disappoint.
It remains the buyer’s responsibility to confirm details provided in the listing by the seller are to their satisfaction – if you have any questions at all please let us know before we arrange shipping.
As a brokerage sale, payment will be made to us but will be held in escrow for the seller until the buyer confirms satisfactory receipt of the item. The buyer has 14 days from receipt to raise any concerns, after which we will release funds to the seller. Full terms available on request.
See photos for cosmetic condition
See description for more information.
Zero rated for VAT.
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